Made in Japan--NoLA (Japan, not Louisiana)!1/11/2013 2:13:53 PM by David L

When you hear the word NoLA, one assumes you're either talking about New Orleans, Louisiana or the debut album by Southern Metal band Down. However, there is another use for the term that needs to be added to that list by way of the Japanese extreme metal band, NoLA. I never even heard of NoLA until I attended the Year End Metal Fever 2012 gig in Shinjuku, Tokyo on December 29th, featuring 15 very talented underground Japanese metal bands. Several of those bands really caught my attention, NoLA being one of them.

Playing a unique blend of doom, grindcore and hardcore, NoLA embrace skillful songwriting, extreme vokills, and great musicianship for their unique style and delivery. Their live lineup consists of Keyaki Ito (Guitars), Koutarou Fukuzawa (Drums), and Takeru Kunugida (Vokills, Screams, Grunts, & other hellish noises). Even with just a guitarist, these guys play loud and heavy and vokillist Takeru uses the whole venue as his stage – no audience member is safe!!

This young band has a great start to a promising career in the metal scene. Although they have just one album (with about 35 minutes of music), they are a force to be reckoned with. I can see them touring with the likes of Pig Destroyer & Napalm Death, as well as Sunn O))) and country-mates, Boris.